Shrunk!
by SuperLeaf
Summary: After a crazy party hosted by Sabertooth, Natsu, Lucy, Grey, Erza, and Rogue get into a little trouble, and get turned into... kids? Why do they have a "guardian" that they can't let go of? And what's with these wacky memories?
1. Shrunk

The building was full of cheer and bright spirits as the two guilds partied together. There was no true reason for the impromptu party, which was taking place at the Sabertooth guild hall. The defensive mages would claim that the party was celebrating the friendly relationship between the former enemies, while the others would say they were just partying for party's sake. Nonetheless, the atmosphere was rather pleasant, and while a few scuffles had broken out, it was altogether quite calm. As it would not be a Fairy Tail party if there was not some fighting involved.

It became late quickly, and the party-goers exhaustedly agreed to simply stay at the Sabertooth guild hall. There were dorm rooms hidden in the 'maze of a guild hall' (as Gajeel grumpily stated), so the Fairy Tail mages scrambled to claim rooms and roommates. The guild hall, formerly filled with loud, happy sounds, settled into quiet slumber.

Rogue Cheney thought he was the only one awake, truthfully. Sting was snoring up a storm (honestly, the exuberant mage was just as loud asleep as he was awake), and Rogue had always seemed to suffer from insomnia. Unfortunately, Rogue was not the only conscious mage, as an intruder had stepped into the hall. The tall man stepped around the corner with malicious intent, only to stop short as he saw the shadow dragon slayer taking a slow long-after-midnight stroll through the building.

The two mages stared at each other, startled into statues by the other's presence. The intruder reacted frantically and briskly, casting an unstable spell at the dark haired man, who was just coming out of his exhausted funk. The strangely orange colored spell slammed into Rogue, smacking him directly on the chest. If he had no magic, he would have been thrown backwards. Instead, he wavered where he stood, a perfect example of surprise and shock on his face. A few seconds passed and the dark mage collapsed onto the floor, stilling into sleep. The man who had cast the untested, and frankly new spell, let out a breath that he hadn't known he was holding. The man was, in actuality, quite terrified of the shadow dragon slayer, and would not stand a chance against him.

In that state, anyway.

However, it was not the man's day, as Natsu had decided to pull an early morning prank on his best friend, who was not amused to be awoken by ice water and find spiders in her bath. Now, Natsu was racing through the halls with an exhilarated, yet slightly nervous expression on his face. Lucy had woken up Erza in her rage (the redhead had been the celestial mage's roommate, after all) and now he had two angry women on his tail. _Ah, I'm so screwed,_ he told himself in acceptance. He was only drawing out the inevitable.

"Woah! What's going on here?!" He screeched to a stop, widening his eyes at the scene in front of him. If he wasn't mistaken, that was _Rogue_ collapsed on the floor with a dark figure bending over him. There was a flash of silver, but Natsu got distracted when his face was ground into the carpet.

"Natsu Dragneel, did you or did you not place spiders in our bath?" Erza hissed, narrowing her eyes at the helpless dragon slayer. Lucy was right behind Erza, but her rage depleted when she saw the situation. The man had noticed them, and in a split second decision, cast the exact same spell on the three Fairy Tail members.

"Er-" Lucy started to call out her friend's name, noticing the man cast the spell. The orange streaks spun towards the mages and rammed directly into them, hitting all three dead on. "-za…" She finished, a woozy feeling coming over her. Erza and Natsu noticed something was wrong too late, and they faded into unconsciousness. A muscle on the intruder's face twitched. This was not how this night was supposed to go. It was supposed to be an easy in-and-out mission.

"What the hell is going _on_ out here?" Grey groaned while opening his door, unknowingly exposing himself to attacks; as being assaulted was the last thing on his mind, he was vulnerable. He had originally opened the door from the loud noises clashing outside his dorm room. Juvia silently opened the door across the hall, wondering the same thing as her beloved, though she went unnoticed by the intruder. The man mentally groaned and swiftly cast the same spell on the unsuspecting ice mage.

"Wha-" He stared at his bare chest where the orange spell had struck him, astonished that he had been hit. Juvia widened her eyes at the sight of Grey falling to the floor, out cold alongside the rest of the mages.

"Grey!" She screeched, turning to the man in fury. "Water lock!" The spell instantly materialized at her words, surrounding the man in dark water. He froze up, confused, frustrated, and instantly afraid. Suddenly remembering an important bit of knowledge that had been drilled into his head by the higher ups, he reached into his overcoat and pulled out a small lacrima crystal. Murmuring a few words as best he could while surrounded by liquid, he proceeded to drop the lacrima, which innocently rolled out of the water lock. It activated in seconds, filling the hallway with magic nullifying orange smoke. Juvia coughed, her spell no more. The smoke slowly faded away, dispersing throughout the rest of the guild hall and becoming ineffective, but the man was already gone. Juvia stared in utter despair at her friends and her friend's friends unmoving on the ground. She felt a tugging desire to fall to her knees and cry out, but she shoved that desire away and rushed to Grey's side, frantically feeling for a pulse. _There has to be a pulse_.

To her relief, his heart was beating strong and unhindered beneath her fingertips. A quick check on the others told her that they were all alive as well, and seemingly only sleeping.

An hour later, Juvia had alerted everyone else of the problem and the entire building had awoken as a result of the events. The five mages who had been attacked were resting in the infirmary, though they had exhibited no negative symptoms. A few select mages stayed with their close friends while the rest of the two guilds either attempted to get a few more hours of precious yet restless sleep or spoke quietly with one another in the Sabertooth cafe area.

The atmosphere had settled somewhat when morning came, a calming quiet blanketing the guild. Well, in the cafe area, anyway.

In the infirmary, it was chaos. While the mages who had not been attacked were not watching their friends, a rather startling transformation had happened.

"Why are they kids?!" Sting yelped when he rested his eyes on the small form of his best friend. "Why is Rogue a little kid?!"

"Grey is a child as well!" Juvia wailed, dismayed since there was no way she could marry a _kid._

"What in the-?" Levy stared at her blond friend, who was -for the first time- smaller than the bookworm herself.

Other noises of astonishment and bewilderment sounded around the room, and more people filtered in from curiosity. News spread like a wildfire as to what had happened. Confusion spread, chaos ensued, and fights broke out. It was Fairy Tail, after all.

* * *

Rogue stirred. Something had happened, but he wasn't sure what. He could tell instantly that he was not in his usual bed, nor was his… well, sister seemed to be the appropriate word, but she was not his biological family. Nonetheless, he felt around the foreign mattress for a bit before concluding that she was nowhere to be found. There wasn't even a note to put him at ease, and he knew she always left a note, if she left at all.

His eyes shot open and he bolted upright, the passive expression on his face hiding his inner turmoil. To his surprise, he seemed to be in an infirmary, though he couldn't feel any wounds or sickness. There were a lot of people in the room, and four other beds. The people were staring at him. Their eyes bore into his own and the silence was deafening. He shrunk backwards into the pillows and backboard. _Who are these people? What are they doing? Where is she?_

"Rogue?" He turned his head at the sound of his name. A tall blond man wearing a strange fur vest thing with suspenders was the speaker, and recognition sparked in Rogue's head. He let out a sigh of relief. Perhaps this was just a misunderstanding, and she was just out getting groceries or something, and left Sting to watch him. Yes, that had to be it.

"Sting, why am I in the infirmary?" Rogue finally asked. Relief flickered across Sting's face, and he sat down on the bed, still facing Rogue.

"You were hit with an unknown spell and got knocked unconscious. You're the first of the five to wake up." Sting explained, grinning that his best friend was awake.

"Hm." Rogue let out an noncommittal noise, trying to remember getting hit. All he remembered was lying down in her bed, snuggling into her side- no, snuggling is for little kids, he was simply lying there. Anyway, he fell asleep next to her like always, in their house like always, after visiting Gajeel like always. His thought process brought him back to his original question: _where is she?_

"I'm glad you still have your memories, Rogue. That would suck if you got turned into a kid and then lost-"

"What are you talking about?" Rogue stared blankly at the dragon slayer, who stumbled to a stop when he comprehended Rogue's statement. The blonde's expression grew worried, that much was obvious. "I don't remember getting hit with a spell, but I've always been this way, Sting." The room collectively took a breath, and Rogue furrowed his eyebrows. Everyone was being so weird, why was everyone acting so weird?

"…What do you mean, Rogue?" Sting finally asked, staring at the small version of the other half of the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth.

"What do _you_ mean, Sting?" Irritation leaked into Rogue's tone, and he searched around again for her. _Oh, there she is!_ Rogue's expression melted into relief, and Sting raised an eyebrow at the sudden change in expression, and he turned to try and find what caused the benign look on Rogue's face.

"Levy!" Rogue called out, a small smile settling on his face and he pulled back the covers and lightly landed on the floor. He pattered over to her as she turned around at the sound of her name, confusion evident on her face. Rogue gave her a rare smile and waited for her to embrace him as she usually did, smiling into the side of his head and not letting go until he complained that she was suffocating him. He waited… and waited…

But she only stared at him in growing confusion. She was there for her close friend, Lucy, and had no reason to believe Rogue would speak to her. But he had, and he seemed to… know her.

"Er, hello, Rogue." She smiled awkwardly at him. His face fell a bit, smile dropping in confusion, but he initiated the hug nonetheless. _Maybe she's just tired, that's all._ He buried his face into her shoulder, being only a bit shorter than the small script mage. He let a small amount of emotion seep into his voice, letting go of his pride for a few moments.

"I missed you," He mumbled, hugging Levy tighter. She widened her hazel eyes, gaping at him and the surrounding mages with a mystified expression. Juvia, who was standing next to her, gazed at the two with a puzzled expression. None were more confused, however, than the muscular light dragon slayer, who was also quite indignant that his best friend had chosen a mage he barely knew over him, albeit being in a rather strange predicament.

"Rogue, what's going on?" Sting finally burst out. The red-eyed boy blinked up at his blonde friend before allowing a contempt look to cross his face.

"Why are _you_ questioning _me_ , Sting? You're the one being all weird. Levy's like my big sis, obviously you know this." _I never want to leave her side._ He thought to himself, subconsciously tightening his grip on the bluenette.

Sting stared in astonishment at the small form of Rogue, wondering what had happened to his best friend.

* * *

 _Hey, wait. Wait a second, what's going on? What's happening? I'm sleeping, or not sleeping, I don't really know, but something's not right, something's going on, I don't-_

 _Oh. OH, I remember, something is coming back to-_

 _AHHHH! WHAT… WHAT IS THIS PAIN, THIS FEELING? FIGHT IT, NATSU, FIGHT-_

…

 _It's… it's gone. But… no! My memories? What's-_

 _Hmm._

…

 _Everything is white, white, suddenly it's all black, what's going on? Who am I? Where-_

 _A light? It's getting brighter… look, an image! A moving image, with a boy in it, he has pink- no, salmon hair, it's, wait. That's me, that's me, right?_

 _There's another person, he must be my… oh! I remember everything now! He took me in, we're brothers now, and I… I remember!_

"WHOA!" Natsu sat straight up in his bed with a loud exclamation. The mages in the room startled, turning their attention from the child version of Rogue -who still had his arms wrapped protectively around Levy- to the child version of Natsu. He, unsurprisingly, had made a much louder entrance than the quiet shadow dragon slayer.

"That was a weird dream, bro!" He laughed obnoxiously, closing his eyes briefly and beaming. Everyone relaxed, believing he had his memories, and that something strange had happened to Rogue, and Rogue alone.

"Natsu, what do you rem-" Master Makarov started, only to be interrupted by the same boy he was addressing.

"Hey, what am I doing here?" Natsu ignored the Master's almost question and examined his surroundings suspiciously. "I don't remember getting hurt. And I don't feel hurt. If I hit my head then my head would hurt, right? Oh hey, where is…" He trailed off, the mages around him left blinking as they took in his rapid fire speech. Natsu ignored their blank faces and continued to search for something, and his face lit up when he found it. Or rather, found him.

"Sting! I found you!" Natsu let out another laugh as he launched himself at the bewildered dragon slayer, who caught the pink haired boy just in time. Natsu nuzzled his nose into the crook of Sting's neck, humming a bit happily. He was a bit of a simple minded child, and did not realized how adorable he appeared. If he had known, his 'manly pride' would have kicked in and he would have beat up whoever called him cute.

"U-uh, hey Natsu…" Sting stuttered, peering at his former idol wrapped in his arms. Natsu grinned toothily up at him, appearing as if he smiled any wider his face would break.

"Sting! What adventure should we do today?" Natsu enthused, hopping down from Sting's bemused embrace. He promptly jumped onto one of the beds, successfully -yet unknowingly- waking the occupant, and leapt onto Sting's shoulders. The blonde dragon slayer stumbled a bit and righted the impulsive fire mage, who now had his legs wrapped around Sting's shoulders and his tiny arms clinging to the man's head.

"Well, neither of them seems to have retained their memories. From what they are saying, it almost sounds like they have different memories in place of the lost ones. And they also seem to each be partial to a certain mage, though I cannot say that for the others. There may be different symptoms for the others." Levy started musing to herself, absentmindedly running her fingers through Rogue's dark hair. The perceptive child stared up at her with his big red eyes, a bit of confusion taking over his expression.

"So… Natsu likes me, and Rogue like you?" Sting clarified. He always thought the short bluenette made things more complex than they needed to be. He preferred to keep his opinion to himself, however, especially after seeing the footage of Rogue's brutal defeat against Gajeel. That man was terrifying, though he would never admit it.

"It seems so, anyway." Levy smiled softly down at the shadow dragon slayer, already liking the boy's quiet nature and intelligent eyes.

"I'm cool with this!" Sting announced, swinging Natsu around a bit on his shoulders and beaming. "This'll be awesome, at least until we can fix it of course!"

Natsu laughed a laugh that was eerily similar to Sting's. Or maybe it was the other way around, nobody really knew at that point. "Whatcha talkin' bout, Sting?"

"Nothing' important. Let's go on an adventure, okay Natsu?" Sting felt his heart swell. This was too fun. He had never had to take care of a child before.

"Okay, bro!" Natsu grinned happily when a loud groan interrupted his joy.

* * *

Grey had been having a nice sleep. There were no dreams, nightmarish or otherwise, and he had been quite peaceful.

That is, until a certain dragon slayer decided to use him as a trampoline. _Figures._

He groaned loudly to announce his wakefulness. He wasn't sure what events had lead him to be in a foreign bed in a strange room with _Natsu_ of all people in it. The ice mage was ready to give a certain flame-brain a piece of his mind and he opened his eyes and sat up.

However, he was not expecting to be the center of attention and have many others staring directly at him. His face flushed and he snapped, "What are you morons looking at?"

Natsu snickered. "Are you sure you-know-who would like your, um, 'vulgar language'?"

To everyone's surprise, Grey blanched and quickly examined his surroundings. When he didn't see who he was looking for he let out a breath of relief, then turned his angered expression to a certain fire mage. "He's not here right now, flame-breath."

"Yeah? Well-" Natsu's next insults fell on deaf ears as his words registered in his mind: _He's not here._

"I have to find him," The ice mage muttered to himself.

 _Him?_ Confused glances were exchanged at Grey's choice of words. That was when an until now quiet bluenette decided to make her presence known.

"Grey, it's Juvia!" The water mage held her breath when the shirtless boy turned his attention to her. _Would he…?_

"Why are _you_ talking to me?" He stated bluntly, simultaneously answering the memory question and breaking Juvia's heart. He recoiled when dramatic tears started dripping from her eyes. "Ah! Don't cry! Why are you crying? What did I do?" She beamed at him.

"Ah, Grey is so considerate, even as a child!" She attempted to embrace the small, raven-haired boy, but he wiggled out of her arms and jumped onto the next bed, successfully giving Lucy a rude awakening.

"Hey!" The small girl whined, shoving the ice mage away. "I was _sleeping_!" Her indignant tone sounded throughout the room. Grey ignored her, searching through the throng of people. She promptly ignored him and tried to fall back asleep.

His face grew irritated. "I need to find him! Where is he?" The boy leapt down from Lucy's bed, marching to the door and pushing through people. Instead of stopping him, they parted, curious as to where he was going.

"Where are you?" Grey raged, storming into the cafe area, turning many heads. He _needed_ to find him.

"Oi, why is Grey a kid?" Gajeel laughed at the small raven-haired boy. Grey glared at him and crossed his gangly arms.

"Where is he?" He asked viciously. Gajeel laughed harshly again and said, "Who, kid?"

"Agh!" Grey stomped his foot childishly and stalked over to the bar.

Juvia started explaining the situation to the confused mages in her vicinity.

"Their memories are gone?" Rufus mused to himself, vaguely interested. Yukino spoke animatedly with Juvia, both of them ignoring their surroundings.

"Oi!" Grey shouted from the top of the counter. The ice mage had clambered up there to find him, and luckily, he had. Grey was staring directly at him. And he was ticked off, too. "Where were you? I can't have to find you every time I sleep, you know!" Mages around him searched for the person he was speaking to. Cana? Elfman?

Grey muttered to himself and hopped down from the counter, stalking over to him. He slammed his foot down on his, and he let out a startled yelp and stared down at the glaring boy.

"Why did you leave me alone?" Grey narrowed his eyes with crossed arms in an aggressive stance.

"Excuse me?" Rufus stared down at his former opponent, now a small boy.

"You as-" Grey slapped a hand over his mouth, eyes suddenly widening with an _oh crap_ look. He brought his eyes up to Rufus's, appearing like he was expecting retribution for almost swearing. Especially for almost swearing at _Rufus._ When he received none, he brought his hands back down to his side in confusion, but did not think on it for long as relief swept through his body. "You said you would stay! It would be a pain to have to find you every time I fall asleep, you know!"

"Grey, what's going on?" Makarov stepped in front of the infuriated boy who had caused a rather indignant look to appear on Rufus's face.

" _What's going on?_ What are you talking about? He's my _guardian,_ that's what's going on! Is your memory leaving with age, old man?" Grey snapped, straightening aggressively. Silence greeted the ice mage's quick words and vicious tone until a certain bluenette spoke up.

"Grey, along with all of the others so far, seem to have different memories and an attachment to another guild member. Rogue and Natsu have also woken up, and Juvia believes Lucy is awake as well." Her gaze fell on her love, thoughts turned more serious as she assessed the situation. She was worried for a whole different reason; what if the mages never turned back?

Bewildered gazes were exchanged after Juvia's clarification, and Rufus stared at Grey with an uncharacteristically lost look on his face.

* * *

"Ugh." A groan permeated from the small figure on the infirmary bed. Lucy was exhausted, for some reason, and had unavoidably been woken up. She wasn't sure if it was Natsu or Grey, but the one of the two were usually the culprit for all of her grievances. Well, them and her guardian, she supposed.

"Lushy! Guess what guess what guess what! I'm going on an adventure with Sting, wanna come?" The energetic voice of her best friend filtered through her tiny ears, and she sat up with another groan, clutching her head. Once again, the mages in the room waited with bated breath, wondering against logic, hoping against hope, that she had all of her memories.

"Sorry, Natsu, but you know what she said about your adventures." Lucy apologized, staring at the onyx irises of the fire mage. Her big brown eyes blinked out the sleep in them as Natsu's face simultaneously fell and indignant.

"Our adventures are not stupid or dangerous!" He protested, leaning into her face in the heat of the moment and staring unblinkingly at her. Lucy was not amused, and merely raised an eyebrow at her friend's antics.

"Her exact words were 'foolish and treacherous things, they always come back injured'." Lucy recited, eyes pointed upwards as she remembered. Her gaze turned back to Natsu's. "I had to explain it to you three times!"

He huffed, leaning backwards in defeat even though he almost told her that he only needed it to be explained to him three times because he wasn't listening to her the first two. He never won arguments, especially with Lucy. He prefered a more violent approach, but nobody would catch him _dead_ in a fight with the celestial mage. Not just because she was his friend, no, he fought his friends usually more often than enemies, but he was utterly _terrified_ of her guardian. Though he would never say so, and usually stood up to the unassuming woman (more like verbally assaulted for no reason) for Lucy's sake, even though it was not appreciated by said celestial mage.

"By the way, where is she?" Lucy searched the room similarly to the other now-child mages, and she didn't seem to find who she was looking for, like Grey. The girl let out a sigh and hopped off her bed, Natsu trailing behind her for a few steps while protesting. She stalked out of the infirmary in pursuit, and Natsu halted right before the threshold, as if he could not physically pass it.

"Sting! Come on we gotta save Lucy!" He struggled with himself in place, as if he were itching to follow his best friend -in adulthood and now fake memories- but simply could not.

"Er… Natsu? Why can't you go save her without me?" It wasn't that Sting wanted to shoot the boy down, but he was puzzled and curious, wondering why the salmon haired crazy had not bolted out the door after Lucy.

"Because! You have to come with me!" Natsu argued, eyes bright with yearning to exit the infirmary. The fire mage thought for a moment before adding a "Please?" as Lucy had told him it was polite and people would help him more if he used the magic word.

Sting melted under Natsu's ignorantly adorable expression and a small smile overtook the light dragon slayer's face for a moment before transforming into his usual beam. "'Course! Let's go save your friend from… wait, who are we saving Lucy from again?"

"Her guardian! She's scary and can put out my flames!"

Lucy searched the room frantically, not seeing her. Where is she?

"Oh, hey Lucy! They were right, she is a kid now…"

"-Luce! Oh my goodness-"

"Pfft, about time you arrived loser, your guardian's over here." Grey's cocky voice cut through all the others and Lucy turned towards where she heard her icy friend's arrogant tone. She brushed off the insult and instead brightened considerably when she saw the water mage in her sights.

"Juvia!" She cried out happily, wrapping her stubby arms around the bewildered bluenette's waist. Juvia blinked at the blonde embracing her and realized that _she_ was one of the guardians in the memories of the turned mages. And not for Grey, as she may have liked, but for Lucy, one she formerly thought of as a love rival before maturing and realizing the intimate relationship between the celestial mage and the fire dragon slayer, though the mages themselves had not realized it quite yet.

"Hello, Lucy." Juvia patted the girl's hair awkwardly, but it seemed to be taken well, as Lucy gave the water mage a bright smile before turning to Grey with a stern gaze. The mages surrounding laughed to themselves as they realized Lucy still had her abrupt change of expression and emotion.

"I'm not a loser. Plus, I never thought you would dare to speak like Natsu with your guardian so close," Lucy stated matter-of-factly, nodding towards Rufus with a determined air. She knew how to stop all of her friends in their tracks, and had all the technics down. For Grey, all she had to do was mention Rufus, and…

"He doesn't care how I talk anymore," Grey said aloofly, waving off the blonde airily. Lucy raised an eyebrow and inwardly panicked. Would she have to revert to mentioning Natsu whenever she was insulted by the ice mage?

"I may not appreciate unknowingly becoming you so-called 'guardian', but if I am to take charge of you, then the words coming out of your mouth will not, and I repeat for those of short memory, _will not_ hear foul words escape those dirty lips of yours. Do I make myself clear?" Rufus suddenly spoke in his lyrical tone, peering at the small raven-haired boy in the eyes. Grey himself visibly squirmed, trying to keep his gaze even with the tall memory-make mage, but he turned his eyes to the floor and mumbled a small, "Yeah, whatever."

Mages surrounding the two children were stunned into silence. Not only had Rufus spoken to his former rival, but he had ordered him around. More shocking than even that, Grey had _bent to Rufus's will_. Not in their history of knowing the raven-haired man- well, now boy- had he ever backed down and listened to someone he quite literally rivaled in battle- and _won._

The silence broke slightly when Sting and Natsu came down the stairs guns ablazing joyously, Natsu cheerfully greeting his small friends. The boy had obviously moved passed saving Lucy, though everyone thought it was strange and hilarious that the fire mage was scared of Juvia of all people, and was happily parading around the room on Sting's shoulders.

The entire room froze when an ear-splitting shriek split through the guild.

* * *

 _No… no… something's not right… I can't sense them, I can't sense them at all!_ Erza continued to flail and thrash against the mages that held her down.

"Let… me… go!" She screamed against their arms and bodies. Her body started glowing, signaling she was requipping, and the mages froze, sweat dropping nervously. Her everyday armor appeared and the sword with it, which she whipped out with lightning speed and slashed around, successfully ridding herself of others. With her limbs now free to move, she sprinted out of the infirmary, leaving many confused, bewildered, and wounded mages to chase after her.

 _I need… I need…_

Her gaze darted from corner to corner, examining the hallways and rooms as she passed them. She sensed a large multitude of magic power down the hall to her left, so she concluded there must be mages there. They might be mingling with other mages, but she knew deep down they weren't. She could sense their magic among others since she could use magic. But she had to see with her own eyes before her hope was crushed.

Erza burst into the room, gaining the stares of the Fairy Tail mages and the Sabertooth mages alike. Her eyes fell on Lucy, Natsu, and Grey (Rogue was still in the infirmary with Levy) and they narrowed dangerously. The three tiny versions of themselves gulped, shrinking back into their guardians. Rufus awkwardly placed a hand on Grey's shoulder in an attempt to comfort the boy.

"Where are they?" She snarled, turning to aggression in her fear and confusion.

"I don't know!" Grey finally squeaked out, shielding his eyes.

"I haven't seen them!" Lucy continued for Grey, hiding her face behind Juvia's legs.

"They aren't here!" Natsu finished, shivering behind Sting's head. Erza froze, the tip of her sword drooping to touch the wooden planks. Her vision swam precariously, and she clenched and unclenched her empty hand to make sure she could still feel.

 _They aren't…? They… have to be… where…?_

She wavered and fell to her knees, the metal of the sword clinking when it fell to the floor. She stared at the wood underneath her fingertips, willing the floor to give her some sort of answer.

"They… they…" She muttered at the smooth wood.

"Erza?" Mirajane said kindly.

"Where are they?!" She screamed at the pale-haired woman, staring into Mira's eyes. The bartender paused, taken aback by the tears starting to form in her left eye.

"Who?" She asked, smiling her trademark smile.

"T-they… my g-" Erza coughed suddenly into her hand, then continued. "My guardian…"

"Your guardian isn't here?" Mira thought to herself for a moment.

"No!" Erza yelled, her voice echoing throughout the room. "No! No! Augh!" Her gutteral cry ripped from her through and chilled the hearts of those who heard it. The three children mages stared in empathy at the redhead, but offered no suggestions.

"Lucy? What do you suppose we do?" Juvia asked the blonde who was still clinging to her legs. The celestial mage turned her big brown eyes towards Juvia's blue ones. Without hesitation the girl opened her mouth and said, quite plainly, "You have to find her guardian."

Erza's cry grew louder and Mirajane widened her eyes.

"Somebody! Get a communications lacrima and contact Jellal! Tell him to get her ASAP and that Erza's in trouble!" She stood, instantly in action. Erza's shriek quieted when she heard his name.

"Je… llal?" She questioned, gazing at Mirajane, who looked quite like an angel to Erza at that moment. Because if Jellal came… then her guardian would be there…

"That's right sweetie, Jellal's going to be coming soon, okay?" Mirajane patted Erza on the head, her motherly nature coming out. Erza was silent, which was better than screaming her head off and attacking everyone in sight.

 _Hope…_

Time passed, and Erza was sitting at a table alone. Anyone who came near her received a reprimand and a sword to the throat, so the mages let her be. A few of the Fairy Tail veterans were reminded of when she first joined the guild, before Grey had noticed her and started bugging her because of his big head.

A sudden commotion sounded from outside the Sabertooth guild doors and Jellal burst through them dramatically. He keeled over for a second but popped right back up again, sweeping his gaze across the lobby.

"I got your message, something absolutely terrible happened to Erza, right? I got here as soon as I-" He stopped when he gaze fell on Erza in child form. Ultear and Meredy stepped through the guild doors in a much quieter fashion, sighing at their guild master's obvious obsession with a certain requip mage.

"They all have these guardians, and we think-" Mirajane started explaining. Erza turned around in her stool, her darkened eyes lighting up when they landed on the group at the entrance of the guild.

"-it's you." Mirajane finished. Jellal took this in with a blink.

Erza lept off her stool and sprinted towards the group intently. Jellal got on one knee to embrace her opened arms, ready to comfort the sad looking girl.

She ran straight past him and wrapped her tiny arms around Ultear's legs.

Jellal felt like a beacon had appeared above his head, reading _ignored_. He slowly turned his head around to see a bemused Ultear staring at the girl with a lost expression adorning her face.

"Her guardian… is Ultear?" Mirajane exclaimed.

* * *

 **When you have things to do but you write instead... and when you write but don't write the story you need to update but write an originally-going-to-be-a-oneshot...**

 **(I'll have a chapter per character, then anything else y'all want, I guess. This was kinda imprompu so)**

 **Favorite, follow, review! (Review actually idk what I'm doing *sheepishly laughs***

 **-Leaf ^-^**


	2. Rogue

**Yayy thank you two reviewers you made my day! I've worked diligently on the next chapter for y'all! Hope you enjoy!**

 **Warning: Gajevy. And lots of it. :3**

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"This is insane…" Levy sighed, leaning against the bar with a light alcoholic beverage in front of her. Rogue sat next to her, a contemplative expression on his face, playing with the glass of ice water in front of him.

She risked a glance and couldn't help the warm feeling that spread through her at the sight of his dark hair. His red eyes had always seemed unnerving whenever she had met the quiet dragon slayer, but now that he was in her charge, they seemed more endearing than anything. Already her perspective of him was changing. Rogue was quite intelligent, but he still had a bit of childish nature in him. _Then again_ , she mused to herself, _He was always sort of like this… maybe Sting was rubbing off on him?_

Rogue innocently met her gaze, oblivious to her inner turmoil. Her head snapped back to the glass of who-knows-what that she was nursing (Mirajane has said it was a new mix, and Levy had already forgotten the name). _Stop_ , she scolded herself. _He isn't going to be like this forever. Remember, the more you get attached, the more it will hurt when he leaves._

She slowly moved her eyes back to the smaller mage and didn't recoil when his honest gaze bore into hers. Her heart twinged. _But…_

"Squirt, you got stuck with this little brat!" Gajeel cackled, bringing his hand down roughly on Levy's shoulder. She flinched at the sudden contact, but Gajeel (being the oblivious dragon slayer he was) did not notice. She huffed and brushed back a lock of hair that had gotten dislodged in Gajeel's exuberance.

"I'd almost feel bad for ya… I could give ya a few tips, yanno. I already had to deal with the snot at this age anyways."

"I'll be fine, thanks," she shot back, instantly riled by the metal mage's presence. Rogue simply spectated, sipping his water for the first time. The condensation from the glass dripped down his fingers and he rubbed them on his pants in annoyance.

"I dunno… yer so short, he could probably knock you over without tryin'!" A guffaw rumbled from his chest and Levy's face turned red with anger, mother bear mode activated.

"Come on, Rogue! We're obviously not wanted here, so we're going home!" She pulled the startled boy off of the stool and started dragging him to the entrance to the guild. The glass of water in his hands dropped to the ground and rolled under a table, spilling the contents all over the floor. A few glances were thrown her way, but she ignored them and continued carting the protesting shadow mage behind her.

"B-but Levy! You always said to never leave an argument without resolving it!"

"That pertains to those who can be _reasoned_ with." She raged to herself, tugging the boy further. Rogue went silent, quietly agreeing with her statement. Then he shook himself out of his stupor and tried to gather his sporadic thoughts. The doors flung open, victim to the frustration emanating from the bluenette, and she stomped through them, making her way towards the Fairy Tail guild and, ultimately, the dorms.

"Where are we going?" Rogue finally settled on, allowing himself to be taken away by the solid script mage and even helping her by starting to walk next to her. He didn't release her hand from his grasp, however.

"My dorm." She slowed to a stop in the middle of the street, realization overtaking her. "You… can't go into my dorm, can you?"

He stared up at her, electing to stay silent. His face betrayed no emotion, but Levy somehow depicted confirmation to her statement in his gaze. A breeze rustled his hair and she moved it back out of his eyes without a second thought, her mind on something else entirely.

"Ahh…" She bit her lip, nearly letting a string of creative swear words fly passed them. Though many did not realize it, she had a wide knowledge of interesting curses, a result of reading so many novels. This moment did not deserve to hear her wide array of swears, she decided.

A sudden thought struck her.

"Er, Rogue? Where do you want to sleep tonight?" As she spoke she almost subconsciously peered at the sky, gauging how much time they had until nightfall. She surprising judged they had about an hour. _Time really flies, huh…_

A few seconds passed before his voice reached her ears. "Well…" A conflicting expression took over his face.

"What is it, Rogue? I won't judge you or scold you, so tell me your idea," she encouraged, crouching a bit to see him at eye level, since she really wasn't much taller than him anyway. Regardless, he avoided her gaze and toed the cobble, kicking a few rocks away.

"We sometimes stay at Gajeel's place, so maybe he would let us…" Rogue scrunched up his nose a bit as he spoke. He continued, saying "But you just had a fight with him, so…" He risked a glance at her and brought his eyes to hers. Sunlight reflected in her eyes brilliantly, and, to his confusion, her cheeks were bright red and her face twitched a few times. He narrowed his eyes and peered into her hazel ones, but they seemed to be seeing something other than what was right in front of her. From what he could tell, her brain was short-circuiting.

"…Levy?" He questioned, raising his hand to wave it in front of her face to see if she noticed. But before it got there, he was whisked away at breakneck speeds by an unknown force. A scream ripped from his throat as Levy's figure blurred away. Then, as soon as he had began, he stopped and was dropped to the ground unceremoniously. He had, to his chagrin, tears in his eyes, so he swiped at his face with his arm before standing to stare at his kidnapper. An uncomfortable feeling wedged in his stomach when he realized that he had been separated from his guardian, and he fought the wave of hysteria that threatened to overtake him. Ten feet was bad, but they had to be… to be…

He shook his head and concentrated on the task at hand. He peered through his fingers at the two figure above him. One was very large while the other was skinny, the fat one had dark hair while the skinny one had orange…

"Jet? Droy?" He exclaimed in shock. The two men shifted slightly in place at the sound of their names, but continued to stare down the young boy. They try to appear imposing, but they do little to rattle the dragon slayer's nerves. He tries to keep his mind off the fact that _Levy is not here, she is far, way too far, and he is drowning, drowning…_

He took a deep breath, stopping himself from almost hyperventilating. While he was composing himself, the two men in front of him had started talking.

"-trying to steal Levy away! We saw how you looked at her, all cold and calculated!"

"Just like that jerk, Gajeel!"

"You were about to hit her too, right before we save her!"

Their voices ran together and Rogue didn't waste energy trying to discern them. There was pounding in his ears and he clenched and unclenched his hands, focusing on the movement.

"Rogue?" A faraway voice called frantically.

"Shi-" Jet's eyes widened.

"Levy!" Droy said in a hushed whisper, fear permeating his voice.

"Levy!" Rogue screamed at the top of his lungs. He tried to escape out of the musty alleyway the two had dragged him into, but he found his way blocked by the wide figure of Droy.

"No! You aren't hurting Levy!" His voice was high pitched, wavering with something Rogue couldn't place.

"Levy!" Rogue screeched again, trying to wrestle his way passed the fat that quite literally took up the narrow alley.

"There's no way you could make it passed us in your state!" Jet boasted, crossing his arms confidently.

Rogue stopped pushing at Droy and backed up a few steps, his head downcast. Jet grinned to himself, about to say something most likely equally foolish as before, when Rogue slowly turned and stared at him with the anger of hell. His bright red eyes were flashing and shadows drifted about him. His magic power started increasing gradually as he drew from his storage, seeing no other way out of this.

"W-wait, Jet, maybe we-!" Droy started protesting. Unfortunately for him, it was in vain, for Rogue let out a guttural cry that chilled the two men to their cores. The scream was filled with anger, fear, panic, and loneliness, but the two were unable to detect the sheer amount of emotion packed into his one single, shrill note.

" _Shadow dragon roar!_ " Rogue screamed, directing his powerful attack at the two kidnappers. They stood in shock and took the brunt of the spell, wavering in surprise even after the spell was over. Rogue, not deciding to stay and see if they were still upright after his attack, slipped into the shadows and appeared outside of the alleyway, frantic and screaming Levy's name. His head whipped around so fast all he saw was blurs and colors.

He caught sight of a shock of blue hair round the corner and he threw himself into her arms. She caught him and stroked his hair, motherly nature taking over as she whispered comfortingly into his ears. He would never admit it, but he cried for her. He was apart from her for too long, and he couldn't handle it.

"Damn." A low whistle broke him away from Levy, snuffling and wiping at his face again, embarrassed. Gajeel stood in front of the alleyway with a possessive stance, staring into the darkness in front of him. He had one eyebrow raised and both arms crossed, seemingly impressed. Rogue was quiet, blinking a little faster than usual and standing right next to Levy. Wind whistled past them.

"What is it?" The bluenette finally asked, curiosity taking over.

"The little brat may be a bit more powerful than we thought." He waved her over and she hesitantly obeyed, an arm still wrapped around Rogue's shoulders. He peered into the alleyway and saw Jet and Droy sitting on the cobble with blank expressions. They weren't quite unconscious, but they were stunned into a long silence and had little strength left.

"Jet! Droy!" Levy gasped and rushed forward, only to be stopped by both Rogue and Gajeel. Surprised, not at Rogue, but at Gajeel, she gaped at the large dragon slayer. His gaze was strangely dark but he spared her a glance.

"These two were the ones who took Rogue. I wouldn't give them any sympathy."

She stared silently into the alley, conflicted.

Then she looked down at Rogue. His cheeks were marked with tears and his strained, terrified voice echoed in her head. Against her better judgement, she closed her eyes and turned away from the alley, walking away. The two dragon slayers followed her without hesitation and they lapsed into silence. The quiet wasn't awkward, but it wasn't exactly comfortable, either. Gajeel was almost muttering to himself, hands stuffed in his pockets and mouth moving almost unnoticeably. Rogue was waiting for Levy to say something and thinking to himself, as he often did. Levy herself was torn between rushing back to her lifelong friends and continuing to walk. In the end, she decided to continue walking with the two dragon slayers, knowing her friends would survive and that Rogue needed her more than they did.

"Where're ya sleepin' tonight?" Gajeel asked gruffly, breaking the silence. Levy shrugged, glancing almost involuntarily at the piercing-covered mage before looking away just as fast, a dusting of pink on her cheeks as she recalled Rogue's former statement: " _We sometimes stay at Gajeel's place…"_

Rogue looked back and forth between the two, and, deciding that he had to do everything, spoke up.

"Gajeel, can we stay with you?" His innocent sounding question was met with sputtering from the normally stoic man. If you looked close enough you might have been able to detect a dusting of pink on his cheeks. The man turned to Levy for help, but she was staring at the ground with a red face, neither rebuking nor encouraging the raven-haired boy.

"Err…" He locked eyes with Rogue and felt his will bending -just slightly- in the face of the young Rogue's expression. He _had_ been a brat, from what he remembered from his Phantom days, but… he certainly didn't seem as bratty now.

"Whatever. Fine."

"Eh?" Levy cried out, cheeks redder than ever. "You want us to _stay with you?!_ "

"Oi! Don't make it into something it isn't!" Gajeel yelped indignantly. "I'm only doin' this for Ryos!"

"R-ryos?" Rogue made a startled noise. His mind swirled and he was abruptly silent. The older mages paused when they noticed the strange behavior in the boy and checked on him subconsciously.

Rogue himself was thinking. And thinking. And his memories seemed to run together and his name was different and he was somewhere else and his _head hurts why does his head hurt?_

"Ah!" He crouched where he stood, clutching his head as images flashed through it. Levy yelped and wrapped her arms around the boy once again, frantically asking what was the matter, while Gajeel examined him intently for any injuries he had not seen before.

 _Images are going too fast I can't see what's going on help why do I feel so conflicted and wrong what is going on help I'm confused am I a child again? What's going on where's Sting wait no no no no that's wrong Levy Levy why Levy? Oh wait those aren't my memories I'm wrong? I was always a kid what's going on I'm confused help help help…_

"Rogue!" Levy's voice snapped him out of his daze and he froze, collecting his thoughts and getting his bearings. Breathe in, breathe out. Rogue closed his eyes then opened them again, carefully standing and placing his hands at his sides. Birds sounded in the distance and the air smelled sweet, the scents of Levy and Gajeel mixing into something wonderfully homey. Rogue thought of what to say to confirm his good health and show that he wished to return to Gajeel's house to get a long night of sleep.

"I want to go home," was not what he expected to come out of his mouth, and it certainly sounded more childish and whiny than he wanted it to, but it had the desired effect.

"Oh, of course, Rogue! Let's get you home into some warm blankets and a fire so you can get some good rest!" She brightened, holding his hand and continuing the trek to Gajeel's house. Gajeel himself followed close behind, a bit flustered from how casually Levy talked of his house being their home. The short girl did not notice her misstep in her excitement for Rogue's quick recovery, and she would not notice until late that night when she rethought all of the events of the day.

Rogue yawned. Then stumbled. The sky grew darker and darker still, and his eyelids drooped. He struggled to stay awake, but his head dropped without his consent before jerking back up. Levy bit her lip, knowing she was too weak to carry the boy but wanting to allow him to sleep. They were very close to Gajeel's house, according to Gajeel, and she glanced between the young dragon slayer and in front of her, willing Gajeel's house to appear out of the trees they were trekking through.

An annoyed grunt sounded next to her and Rogue's hand slipped out of hers. Startled, she discovered Gajeel carrying the boy gently in his arms, his head tucked against the gruff mage's large chest. Rogue let out a weak sound of protest before breathing in Gajeel's comforting scent. As he drifted off, Levy lightly ran her fingers through his hair, calming him even more and leaving him no reason to stay awake. His deep breaths indicated his level of conscious, and Levy smiled, heart bursting at how adorable the boy was while sleeping.

They swiftly arrived at a surprisingly cozy looking house. Levy snapped her mouth shut as she did not want to sound rude, but she had not expected the rough man's house to look like this.

He made a grumbled statement of welcome as he pushed open the door with his back, Rogue still nestled in his arms. She delicately brushed past the door, shutting it behind her and taking in the interior of Gajeel's home. It was rather small, a counter with a sink attached taking up one corner with a fridge on the end of the flat sheet of metal. There was a long couch and a few rugs, but those were not the items that held most of her attention. No, she was in awe of the unending pieces of metal artwork. 2D, 3D, and mostly dragons, they were scattered across the room on metal shelves, metal tables, or placed haphazardly on the floor. She stepped over a freakishly accurate-looking tiger and followed Gajeel through the one other door he had in his house.

She stepped over the threshold to see the large dragon slayer place Rogue in a lonely, single bed, turning around and starting when he saw Levy's loving expression. She was adoring just how gentle Gajeel was with Rogue, though she would most likely die of embarrassment if she knew just how much of that emotion was showing on her face.

"Er… you can sleep on the couch, if ya want. I'll take the floor." He brushed past her, uncharacteristically lacking his usual sarcasm. He paused when he noticed that Levy had not moved. "Squirt?"

"Oh! I, ah…" She stumbled over her words. "I think I'll sleep next to Rogue. I don't want him to be scared when he wakes up. And, also…" The bluenette hesitated, tugging on a lock of her hair.

"Hm?" Gajeel raised an eyebrow in her general direction.

"Thank you for your hospitality," she blurted out, angry that he was making her feel so awkward, covering her face with her hands.

"Er, no problem. Besides, what kinda jerk would I be if I left two little squirts out in the cold?" He grinned, putting his hand palm down at her height to emphasis his point.

Levy huffed, the touching moment gone, and slammed the door in his face. His guffaws echoed from behind the wood and she shook her head, muttering something about _ruining the moment_.

She then sighed, realizing that she had no sleeping clothes, but sighed in acceptance before settling in next to Rogue. He moved closer to her in his sleep and sighed contently. Her heart filled and she rested her palm on the crown of his head, closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep in the comforting atmosphere.

* * *

 **Bleh. I kinda hate the ending... might change it later, I dunno. But yay! Gajevy! Cute, parent!Gajevy. I am proud of that and that alone.**

 **Angela Magic: Yay! Cute is good and if you like it then you read more! Score!**

 **Guest: Pfft haha yeah not the most original idea... but hey, I'm super happy how you think it's developing into something new! Woo, thank you so much! :D**

 **Thanks for reading, and they are in the same order as the first chapter, so up next: Natsu.**

 **-Leaf**


	3. Natsu

**Heheh, hi. *sheepish wave***

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"This is _boring!_ " Natsu complained, flopping onto the table dramatically. They had been waiting for Erza's guardian to appear, and now everyone was paying attention to the redhead now that she had been reunited with her guardian. _They're not even that cool,_ he thought grumpily to himself, resting his chin on his crossed arms.

"Then let's go out! Explore!" Sting exclaimed jovially, electing to keep out the fact that they had been in the room for only a minute after Jellal and his friends had arrived. Natsu brightened, jumping to his feet on top of the table.

"Now I'm all fired up!" He cheered. Sting froze for a split second when he heard Natsu's iconic phrase leave the pink-haired boy's lips. The white dragon slayer proceeded to sweep Natsu off the table and plop him back on his shoulders, rather enjoying the moments with his former idol. They started bounding towards the doors, talking a mile a minute about where they were going to go and what they were going to do. Most of what they said was unintelligible, but they seemed to understand each other.

"And where do you think you two are going?" The commanding voice of Makarov sounded in the two exhilarated dragon slayer's ears. Their bodies went rigid.

"In the midst of this new peril, you both are galavanting off to who-knows-where? Natsu I understand, but Sting, you have responsibilities as the leader of Sabertooth!" Makarov scolded them. The two wilted under his powerful stare, and Natsu's head dropped onto Sting's in distress. Sting himself felt an annoyed yet upset expression start to settle on his face, because, after all, Makarov was right. As the leader of Sabertooth, it was his responsibility to be there for the guild.

"Lighten up, Gramps!" Surprisingly, it was Gajeel who came to the two dragon slayer's rescue. The metal mage let out a strange _ghihihi_ before continuing. "I, for one, was excited to get rid of Salamander. He's a pain in the-"

"Oi!" Natsu bellowed, struggling to leap off Sting's shoulders. The blonde was clasping onto the enraged boy to make sure he didn't do anything stupid (which was interesting that Sting was the one being responsible). "Dare you to say that again, you-!"

"I take back all of my former statements. Sting, get Natsu out of here before he destroys something." Makarov rubbed his temples and sighed as the white dragon slayer bolted out of the guild doors instantly after hearing his words. The guild was much quieter now that the two had gone, though there was still excitement hanging in the air as Lucy was chatting with Juvia, Grey was grumbling to himself and Rufus whacked him upside the head ( _artfully_ , of course), and Erza was… sorting out some things with Jellal.

Gajeel's ears pricked when he thought he heard someone calling Rufus's name, and the voice sounded suspiciously like Levy's…

Outside the guild walls, Sting was bounding through the streets of Magnolia, Natsu clinging to the blonde's scalp and grinning all the way. A few residents shook their heads, muttering " _Youths."_ under their breath with either an irritated glare or a soft smile. Sting and Natsu ignored them happily, sprinting straight for the forest.

Upon reaching the safety of the trees Sting slowed to a stop, taking in the light dappling the forest floor and the sound of the trees swaying in the breeze. The blonde started walking slowly, turning his head left and right to examine the area they were exploring. Natsu hummed lightly to himself, squinting his eyes at his surroundings. A tree branch nearly whacked him in the face and he wrinkled his nose.

An idea popped into his head and a mischievous smile spread across his face. He latched onto a branch when they walked under another tree and held fast, sliding off of Sting's shoulders to hang by his hands from the branch. Startled by the sudden lack of weight on his back, Sting swiveled on one heel to see Natsu scramble up into the tree, a laugh drifting down to meet the startled blonde.

"Natsu!"

"Hurry up, Sting! I can't go too high with you slacking off!" Natsu laughed joyfully, swinging around the branches of the tree without a care in the world. Sting weighed his options for a split second before leaping up into the tree to meet the pink-haired boy. They ended up being face to face, both grinning widely at the exhilarating feeling running through their veins. Natsu's eyes scrunched up and he jolted his head forward to give Sting a bonk on the head, his version of a kiss on the cheek or an eskimo kiss, before scrambling up higher into the tree. A nervous knot settled in Sting's stomach and he decided to act upon his new guardian status.

"Natsu, I think it's time you come down," he called up, hauling himself a little higher but not wanting to encourage the energetic dragon slayer.

"Stop being such a- whoa!" As he was shooting back a carefree comment he lost his balance on the branch he was standing on. Sting's heart stopped as he saw the boy fumble for a grip on any branches nearby but falling just short of them, his face turning to one of horror. Gravity quickly took hold and Natsu was streaking towards the ground, hitting thick branches on the way down. The boy himself had curled into a ball, instinctively attempting to protect his organs, when his small body crashed into a particularly thick branch. This all happened before he had even reached Sting, who was positioning himself to catch the tumbling dragon slayer. He finally reached his guardian, who caught him in his arms while swaying slightly to keep his balance, as he was still up in a tree.

"Natsu!" Sting jumped to the ground and carefully placed the boy on the earth, examining him for any injuries. And though he had been looking for them, he wasn't expecting to find a broken arm. This was _Natsu_ for crying out loud! It took more than a little branch to sprain his wrist, let alone break his arm!

"Ow." Natsu gazed at his twisted limb, a blank expression on his face. It was unnerving to Sting to see such an emotionless expression on his usually jovial face. "I think I hurt my arm."

Sting stopped himself from yelling out " _You think?!"_ and instead took a deep breath, calming himself and putting together a plan in his head.

"Okay Natsu, I'm going to bring you back to the guild to get your arm checked out, okay?" Sting lifted the boy up carefully with no protest from the small mage and started walking, checking on the strangely-quiet dragon slayer every now and then.

Sting longed to strike up a conversation, unused to the quietness that Natsu was displaying. Well, that is to say he was not used to being the serious one. That was Rogue. Rogue was the quiet, serious one… who was now a child, nonetheless…

He shook his head and tried to take his mind off his best friend and tried to focus his mind on Natsu's wellbeing. The boy was taking deep breaths and gazed at the canopy above him through half-lidded eyes, a tranquil expression spreading over his features. The up and down motion of Sting walking was curiously calming and he felt himself slipping off into the dream world…

"Sting?" The confused tone of Yukino filtered through Natsu's ears, and he perked up a bit when he heard his name mentioned. "Why are you carrying Natsu?"

"He broke his arm," he explained anxiously, shifting Natsu in his arms ever so slightly.

Yukino's eyes widened, and so did a few other mages who had listened in. "How?" It was rare, after all, to see the flame mage injured. Most of the time he popped back up as if nothing had happened, unless there was a serious fight or something.

"Tch. Just like that weirdo, forgetting we're…" Grey suddenly spoke up, causing everyone to turn towards him in surprise. His face flushed when he realized everyone was staring at him. He snapped his mouth shut and seemed to shrink into himself awkwardly. Tense silence followed, which Natsu broke, to everyone else's relief.

"I'm not… a weirdo!" Natsu struggled to break himself out of his sleepy state. "That's Lucy!"

"Hey!" Lucy's indignant voice sounded from the bar, where she was glaring in his direction. Juvia appeared just as offended as the small blonde.

"Well, it's true!" Natsu argued.

"Absolutely not!" Juvia exclaimed. Sting struggled with Natsu, who was trying to wrestle his way out of his arms to back up his claim with his fists, thinking he would be fighting Lucy in this situation, or maybe Grey…

"Stop it, Natsu! Your arm-!" Sting yelped as Natsu lit on fire and finally squirmed his way out of his guardian's grip. He landed on the floor, wincing slightly from the pain in his arm, and scampered around trying to find someone to fight.

"I'll show-" Natsu leaped towards Lucy, who was suddenly blocked by Juvia, who had a deathly glare that stopped the fiery mage in his tracks. Face paling when faced with Juvia's protective side, he swiveled and turned towards Grey, who seemed all the ready to fight his rival when Natsu was suddenly encased in ice, the confusion on Grey's face showing that it was not him who had attacked. A ghost of a smile passed Rufus's face and he touched his mask delicately, Natsu tumbling out of the ice in bewilderment. Sting saw his chance and took advantage of Natsu's dumbfounded state, swooping forwards and gathering him in his arms once again, sweeping towards the infirmary with an apologetic grin on his face.

And before anyone knew it, the two enigmatic mages were gone, having escaped to another room. Silence enveloped the room in their wake.

Meanwhile, Sting had placed Natsu on a bed and whipped out medical supplies, knowledgeable in this area at least. He carefully set to fixing Natsu's arm best he could, the boy himself a strange quiet. Eventually, Sting couldn't take it anymore.

"Natsu? What's wrong?"

His onyx eyes made their way up Sting's face, settling on his worried blue eyes. Natsu seemed to consider this, which was shocking in and of itself, then opened his mouth to speak.

"They… I mean, I know that I'm weaker, but I didn't think… well, that I was _this_ weak!" Natsu burst out, peering at Sting to hear his confirmation that no, of course he wasn't weak.

Alas, Sting's mind was on something else. "They?"

Natsu's face twisted in confusion. "Well, I don't know… I wasn't always this weak, right? So someone made me weak. They."

It was strangely clever, in its own way. But this also meant the others knew of their weakness and were, maybe, trying to find the one that "did this to them".

Sting elected to stop thinking about it, and beamed at Natsu instead. "Well, you're gonna be just fine, so when we're done do you want to go home and play some more?"

"Yeah!" Natsu's face instantly lit up and Sting breathed a silent sigh of relief. He was not used to Natsu sounding so depressed. "Home! Where I li- wait. Your house? Wait. I think I have- ah ah ow!" The boy suddenly clutched his head, an unknown ache spreading through it at the thought of what may be his house. Where he lived, alone, as an adult. But he was a kid, and should not have those memories.

"Natsu! My house!" Sting yelped, fussing over the boy but not touching him in fear of messing something up. Bizarrely, at the words "my house" the headache promptly stopped and Natsu promptly forgot about it, adorning his trademark grin and reassuring Sting of his wellbeing. Before long, the two dragon slayers were off to Sting's house, where he originally lived with Rogue (though they had stayed at the Guild Hall with all of Fairy Tail after the party).

Natsu was back to his joyful, bouncing self, and Sting could have not been happier.

* * *

 **Lord, this is terrible. Also, I'm sorry. Mostly f** **or the sheer _lateness_ of this chapter. I never meant it to be so long, I swear! And then, school happened and life happened and _writers block happened..._**

 **But I digress. The next part, Grey and Rufus (be prepared for the large amount of sarcasm in the next update), is already partially written, so it should not (key word: should) be as long of a wait.**

 **Sorry again!**

 **Angela Magic: Who doesn't love Gajevy? ^-^ And thank you, here's another update !**

 **LadyLittleNecoLucy: Haha thanks! And here's an update, though it's not really _soon_ per se... **

**Til next time! -Leaf**


	4. Grey

**sorry this is shorter than the other two, I was sort of running on dry o-o**

* * *

"Don't you two find this to be a bit… awkward?" Yukino offered, examining the stances of both Rufus and Grey intriguingly.

"Absolutely," Rufus proclaimed, while Grey huffed and snarked out, "'Course not!" The two former rivals' eyes met then broke away, Rufus feeling uncomfortable with the situation. Grey, on the other hand, had a sinking feeling in his stomach. It was uncommon for one's guardian to dislike their charge, but it wasn't impossible. Maybe he was just too unlikable. Grey had been insulted senseless before, but he'd never minded because Rufus was always there. But if Rufus decided to leave, if Rufus decided he wasn't good enough, if Rufus _abandoned_ him…

Grey's eyes widened and he let out an involuntary choking noise. He couldn't be _abandoned._ Then he would need to survive on his own without his guardian and that would be near impossible since he _needed_ his guardian and his life was going to be over-

"Grey? I believe if you squeeze any tighter I may not be able to feel my leg," Rufus chided. Grey noticed that as he became more stressed his grip had tightened on Rufus, to the point of Rufus being frustrated…

Now, Grey was used to frustrating Rufus. It was just so _easy_ , and it was always fun going back and forth, even though he never won. Regardless, Grey had never experienced such rejection before. And he certainly was not used to Rufus not being attuned to his every emotion. And now he didn't want to be touched at all? Grey shuddered. This was all the symptoms of _abandonment._ And he could not handle _abandonment,_ so he'd better do everything Rufus said. Even if he hated it.

"Grey? You're being rather quiet, is everything okay?" Yukino asked kindly, secretly sending a glare in Rufus's direction. The older mage pretended not to notice.

"O-of course it is! E-everything's great! F-fine and d-dandy, I'll say!" He blurted out, attempting (and failing) to appear normal. It was not normal, obviously, for Grey to stutter, nor was it common for him to sound so insecure. The boy's hand twitched, wanting frantically to reach out and at least brush against Rufus's leg to feel the warmth of his guardian. It was torture for him not to connect with his guardian, or at least not be _allowed_ to connect. He would have been fine if Rufus had not flat out scolded him for clinging to his leg.

While Grey was trapped in his spiralling thoughts, Yukino was trying to portray something to Rufus silently. Her eyes widened with meaning and she pointedly looked from Grey to Rufus. The memory mage wrinkled his nose with distaste and nearly stuck it up in the air in disdain when he caught sight of Grey's tortured expression. His tiny hands were clenching and unclenching purposefully, and the small boy's eyes were flickering around the room as if trying to find something to do. Inexplicably, Rufus's heart softened, perhaps the first time it had ever yielded to a child.

"Grey," he started, placing a hand on the boy's head. He paused when Grey instantly reached up and touched the hand that was resting on his head, a peaceful expression sweeping across his face. His inner turmoil had calmed for the most part, his mind convincing himself that there was no way that Rufus was going to _abandon_ him.

"Do you enjoy skin-to-skin contact?" Rufus questioned rather bluntly. Grey stiffened, noting that his macho front was in danger of being compromised. He considered how to approach the situation while keeping his tough front up, but had trouble given that he had no desire of losing Rufus.

"Well…" Grey narrowed his eyes in irritation, seeing no way to go about the situation while getting the effects he wanted. "Of course I like, uh, being near you! All charges are supposed to, anyway! It's a given, you should know since you never forget anything!"

Rufus raised an eyebrow at his spiteful tone and Grey quieted slightly, but continued.

"I mean, didn't you notice? Natsu was basically smothering Sting, Lucy is almost always in direct contact with Juvia, Erza won't let go of Ultear, and who knows where Rogue is, probably hugging Levy like the wimp he is." Grey crossed his arms, angrily trying to ignore the blush on his face. He seemed to then be done with his tirade, and Rufus seemed to have a better understanding of the situation.

"So?" Yukino stuck her head in between the two, examining both of their expressions. "That means you hold his hand," she whispered loudly to Rufus, causing an irritated look to cross his face. The irritation was not directed at Grey this time, and he made that a point when he glared at Yukino. Grey huffed, showing his fake disgust at her suggestion. She muttered something about boys being hopeless before grabbing their wrists and quite literally forcing them to hold hands.

Rufus nearly pulled his hand away in disgust when he noticed the pleased look on Grey's face. If the boy had known he was being so obvious he would have scowled, but at the moment he was like an open book. And so, Rufus did not let go.

He did, however, need to get away from his "helpful" friend.

"I believe I will introduce you to my abode now," he said airily. Grey mocked him behind his back by making a face and pretending to mouth the words, and Yukino giggled behind her hand as the two left the building. She seemed to be having more fun than the two males were, and she sighed in contentment, moving away to find Mirajane or perhaps check in on Lucy and Juvia.

The two mages exited the Sabertooth guild hall and started making their way towards Rufus's "abode", as he so elegantly put it. Rufus had learned from his experiences and had a hand stationary on Grey's shoulder or the back of his head, leading him gently in the right direction and maintaining that "skin-to-skin contact" he seemed so partial to.

"Rufus." Grey suddenly stopped, eyes furrowing. The memory mage thought he was about to tell him that no, he wasn't his guardian, and to please stop touching him, and that he was a fool for even considering taking care of him as a role model figure.

Grey, of course, was not thinking any of these things; in fact, he was thinking quite the opposite. An uncomfortable feeling had settled in his stomach and he knew, for some reason, that something back was going to happen. Maybe it would separate them, or hurt Rufus, or…

"Grey, whatever is the matter?" Rufus was, dare he say it, worried at the fact that Grey was clutching the edges of his vest, expression scrunched up in thought. At the sound of his voice, the raven-haired boy turned his head to stare into Rufus's eyes, conflicting emotions shining through.

"There's something… something…" He never got to finish his statement, as a mysterious object smashed into him from behind, striking his neck and spinning him away from Rufus. The object turned out to be a round, slightly bumpy sphere made out of an unknown material but appeared to be wooden. Rufus's reaction was instantaneous, seeming to stand still then reappear next to the boy, protectively holding onto his shoulder. The blonde then narrowed his eyes at the assailant, who had almost appeared out of nowhere.

"Give me all your money!" The man yelled, clutching another wooden ball. Rufus detected a small amount of magical energy protruding from the man, no doubt connected to the sphere grasped in his hand, though it was laughable in comparison to himself.

From the obvious lack of response from the two mages, the man shook a little but repeated himself, saying, "Give me all your money and no one gets hurt!"

"I would never even donate money to such an imprudent buffoon," Rufus stated coldly, glaring at the man icily. "Therefore you will receive neither cash nor attain your ludicrous claim of pain."

The man blinked, taking in the words and struggling to decipher them. He decided to give up on understanding the strangely-dressed man and instead reverted back to threatening.

"I warned you! I would hurt you!" The man spoke the sentences like bullet points, then gestured with his hand to fling the wooden ball at the two mages. The sphere crashed through the two and through them, a mirage blinking out of focus.

"Whaa?" The man spun around and searched in vain for the missing mages. "I hit you! I hit you!" He sputtered indignantly.

"But how could you have hit me," Rufus appeared in his line of sight, a deadly stare on his face, "when all that was left was but a mere memory?"

With that, Rufus enacted a weaker variation of Black Lightning (he didn't want to kill him) and knocked the man flat.

"How do you do that memory magic?" Grey asked curiously, staring unaffected at the unconscious man.

"The wind passes not through the glacial forest," Rufus said mysteriously, touching his mask. Grey's curious expression vanished and was instantly replaced by a deadpan stare. Rufus smirked but offered no further explanation. He was going to simply continue the path to his house, but the gleam of red on Grey's neck caused him to pause. He crouched down next to the boy to examine it.

"O-oi!" Grey protested, though he secretly felt just a little glad Rufus was worried about him. The older mage moved his hair away and noticed a dark cut stretching from the back of his left ear to the base of his hairline. Blood seeped from the wound at a steady pace, though it didn't seem to be in any hurry, which was a relief.

Natsu's broken arm prodded at his memory, and Rufus decided that Grey, being in the same situation as the fiery dragon slayer, was hurt more than he would have thought because of his naturally weak nature in his current state. The blonde was wiping some of the blood away when he caught sight of a strange mark that had formerly been hidden by the boy's raven hair. It was a masquerade mask, a small tattoo of something that appeared to be suspiciously like his own mask. Rufus touched the cloth around his eyes in slightly confusion, peering at the tattoo.

"Grey? What's this?" Rufus delicately placed his finger on the marking, and Grey turned his head slightly to address his guardian.

"It's my mark. It marks you as my guardian and me as your charge. Jeez, Rufus, it's like you all got amnesia or something!"

Rufus lifted an eyebrow. "How ironic. The memory mage obtains amnesia."

Grey decided to drop that topic and muttered something about how he was fine, which Rufus ignored easily. He did decide, however, that it was safe to continue on the trek to his home; he had ample supplies there, anyway.

They walked home, Rufus glancing at the wound and tattoo on Grey's neck every so often. Grey was grumbling to himself as they walked on, but his irritation seemed to be the only thing wrong with him. Other than the cut, of course.

Rufus's mind kept going back to the mark. Questions traveled through his mind though he never thought to ask them. He was, all cool fronts aside, worried. There was no telling what was going to happen next, and they could only hope for the next day to be better.

Yeah. Tomorrow would be better.

* * *

 **I told myself I would update on my birthday, and I was planning on updating both TSOL and Shrunk, but I only got to this... also life gave me sickness as a birthday present.**

 **:)**

 **Angela Magic:** **yay thanks for understanding ! have another update... nearly a month later jfc I'm late XD**

 **Guest: omg thank you so much *hugs* I hope you liked this update!**

 **Please review! It reminds me this story exists lmao.**

 **Until next time (hopefully it won't be so long but no promises)**

 **-Leaf**


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